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GREEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE PEARSON ECO-BUSINESS ZONE GOING STRONG

-Partners in Project Green Releases 2010 Annual Report-

TORONTO, May 20 /CNW/ -Partners in Project Green, an initiative led by Toronto and Region
Conservation and Greater Toronto Airports Authority, released the
results from its 2010 Annual Report to a growing community of
businesses who are working together to transform the Pearson
Eco-Business Zone into a world-class region for eco-innovation.
Partners in Project Green has quickly proven that organizations are
demanding greater resources and opportunities for collaboration for
greening their bottom line and making Toronto a greener place to do
business.

"After our first year, it was clear that Partners in Project Green was
serving genuine needs," said Toby Lennox, Chair, Partners in Project
Green Steering Committee. "The number of companies engaged, projects
undertaken and uptake of the collaboration model demonstrated that
companies were interested in turning sustainability into real business
opportunities."

In 2010 Partners in Project Green hosted 1,213 participants at training
events, networking sessions and community tree plantings. More than
2,700 businesses in the Pearson Eco-Business Zone were engaged in
energy efficiency projects, conserving 7766.23 MWh of electricity and
8,500,000 m3 of natural gas. A total of 38 businesses in the Pearson
Eco- Business Zone were engaged in water reduction measures conserving
883 m³ per day. 21,652 MWh of electricity in the Pearson Eco-Business
Zone were sourced from renewable sources via Bullfrog Power.

"Partners in Project Green's second year has been one of maturation,"
said Brian Denney, CAO, Toronto and Region Conservation. "Relationships
formed at the beginning have grown stronger and realized even greater
results, programs have been refined to deliver greater benefits, and
the transformation of the region to create a thriving green economy has
taken deeper roots."

At the Annual General Meeting, the official opening of the 2011 Partners
in Project Green Sustainability Awards was launched. It was also
announced that the Green Power Challenge, a program that was introduced in April 2010 between PPG and Bullfrog
Power which challenged organizations within the Pearson Eco-Business
Zone to achieve a collective goal of greening 58,000 MWh of electricity
(equivalent to the requirements of almost 6,000 Ontario homes) by
bullfrogpowering their facilities with 100 per cent clean renewable
power was met. In April 2011—just one year after the Green Power
Challenge was launched—organizations within the Pearson Eco-Business
Zone achieved the goal. Currently, more than 40 companies are active in
the challenge. Participating businesses include some of Canada's most
well respected organizations, such as Unilever Canada, Walmart Canada,
LoyaltyOne and leading banks BMO Financial Group, RBC Financial Group
and TD Canada Trust. This makes 1 per cent of the energy used in the
Pearson Eco-business Zone now coming from clean, renewable energy.

Other 2010 accomplishments include:

Partners in Project Green was honoured with the Economic Developers of
Canada Marketing Award for the Partners in Project Green Program Guide
and received an Honourable Mention for the Pearson Eco-Business Zone
Strategy from the Canadian Institute of Planners.

Four sustainability consortiums were launched, in the manufacturing,
logistics, hospitality and office sectors.

Six companies utilized the Green Purchasing Alliance for nine projects
to reduce the cost of their building retrofits.

A Rooftop Solar Procurement Group was formed with the goal of working
together to source a rooftop solar solution for participating
companies.

108 participants were given expert knowledge and insight into rooftop
solar through Understanding the Economic Benefits of Rooftop Solar
seminars.

Restoration and naturalization efforts continued on five restoration
sites and two new restoration plans were developed in 2010.

Five companies were engaged in the Green Parking Lot Program.

A number of eco-business land-use policy tools were developed for the
Pearson Eco-Business Zone in collaboration with local municipalities
and the development industry.

Working with funding from Woodbine Entertainment, the City of Toronto,
the Region of Peel and Enbridge Gas, Partners in Project Green
developed several green jobs programs to help create job opportunities
for local youth and post-secondary students. These jobs ranged from
internships installing white roofs and solar panels, to assisting
companies in reducing their energy and resource costs. In total, 78
companies utilized Partners in Project Green Green Job Programming.

About Partners in Project Green
Partners in Project Green, an initiative led by the Greater Toronto
Airports Authority and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, is a
growing community of businesses working together to green their bottom
line by creating an internationally-recognized eco-business zone around
Toronto Pearson. Through new forms of business-to-business
collaboration, Partners in Project Green delivers programming that
helps businesses reduce energy and resource costs, uncover new business
opportunities, and address everyday operational challenges in a green
and cost-effective manner.